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EBRD extends a syndicated loan to AccessBank

20 November 2008 10:27 (UTC +04:00)

Baku. Nijat Mustafayev â€“ APA-Economics. The EBRD is providing AccessBank, formerly known as Microfinance Bank of Azerbaijan, with a $28 million syndicated loan to deliver much-needed financing to the countryâ€™s micro and small enterprises.
Despite the current difficult conditions on global capital markets, the loan was successfully syndicated to four foreign financial institutions.
The EBRD Office in Baku said the funding comprises a three-year $10 million A-loan for the EBRDâ€™s own account and a three-year $18 million B-loan, of which $10 million have been taken up by the Netherlands Development Finance Company (FMO) and the remaining $8 million by WGZ Bank, Erste Bank and First Bank of Nigeria.
The loan will support the development of the financial sector in Azerbaijan and benefit local micro and small enterprises, the core client group of AccessBank, through on-lending. The bank has successfully developed its lending operations and become a reliable source of finance for micro and small businesses in Azerbaijan. Over the last three years, it has expanded its operations into rural areas of the country, where access to finance remains particularly difficult.
This is the first syndicated loan for AccessBank and as such is expected to have a significant demonstration effect. The loan will provide AccessBank with long-term funds unavailable from local sources and at the same time introduce it to international capital markets. With the current situation in the financial markets, the EBRDâ€™s commitment is crucial for maintaining the confidence of all participants
Francis Delaey, head of the EBRD office in Baku, said, â€œWe are delighted to sign this loan agreement with AccessBank, because it will strengthen a leading private financial institution in Azerbaijan and also benefit local businesses. Given current circumstances in the international financial markets it is especially significant that we were able to syndicate the loan. This is a clear vote of confidence for the project. â€
Andrew Pospielovsky, General Manger of AccessBank, added, â€œThe successful syndication of this loan at a time of international financial crisis is a demonstration of the strength of AccessBank and Azerbaijanâ€™s economy. This will inspire further confidence among investors seeking solid ground.â€
AccessBank was founded as Microfinance Bank of Azerbaijan in 1992. It currently has six shareholders: Black Sea Trade and Development Bank, the EBRD, the IFC, KfW, Access Holding and the German consultancy, LFS Financial Systems Ltd. A leading provider of financial services to micro and small businesses in Azerbaijan, AccessBank currently has 20 branch offices throughout the country.
Through its micro and small enterprises programmes, the EBRD has supported over three million small enterprises throughout eastern Europe, Russia, Central Asia and the Caucasus. The EBRD currently works with 108 commercial banks and non-bank microfinance institutions to establish or expand specialised micro and small business finance units and to date has lent over â‚¬1.1 billion to leverage â‚¬17 billion in loans to micro and small businesses in the region.

Avropa YenidÉ™nqurma vÉ™ Ä°nkiÅŸaf BankÄ± (AYÄ°B) AzÉ™rbaycanÄ±n Â«AccessBankÂ» SÉ™hmdar Kommersiya BankÄ±na mikro vÉ™ kiÃ§ik sahibkarlÄ±ÄŸÄ±n maliyyÉ™lÉ™ÅŸdirilmÉ™si mÉ™qsÉ™di ilÉ™ 28 mln. ABÅž dollarÄ± mÉ™blÉ™ÄŸindÉ™ sindikatlaÅŸdÄ±rÄ±lmÄ±ÅŸ kredit ayÄ±racaq.
AYÄ°B-in BakÄ±dakÄ± ofisindÉ™n Â«APA-EconomicsÂ»É™ verilÉ™n mÉ™lumata gÃ¶rÉ™, dÃ¼nya bazarlarÄ±nda cari maliyyÉ™ vÉ™ziyyÉ™tinÉ™ baxmayaraq, kredit dÃ¶rd xarici maliyyÉ™ tÉ™ÅŸkilatÄ± tÉ™rÉ™findÉ™n sindikatlaÅŸdÄ±rma Ã¼zÉ™ mÃ¼vÉ™ffÉ™qiyyÉ™tlÉ™ tÉ™ÅŸkil olunub. SindikatlaÅŸdÄ±rÄ±lmÄ±ÅŸ kreditin 10 mln. dollar mÉ™blÉ™ÄŸindÉ™ olan hissÉ™si (A-loan) AYÄ°B-in Ã¶z hesabÄ±na, qalan vÉ™saitin (B-Loan) 10 mln. dollarÄ± Hollandiya Ä°nkiÅŸaf MaliyyÉ™ ÅžirkÉ™ti (FMO), 8 mln. dollarÄ± isÉ™ AlmaniyanÄ±n Â«WGZ BankÂ», AvstriyanÄ±n Â«Erste BankÂ» vÉ™ NigeriyanÄ±n Â«First Bank of NigeriaÂ» tÉ™rÉ™findÉ™n maliyyÉ™lÉ™ÅŸdirilÉ™cÉ™k. Kredit Ã¼Ã§ ilÉ™ ayrÄ±lÄ±r.
Qeyd edÉ™k ki, bu gÃ¼nÉ™ kimi AYÄ°B AzÉ™rbaycanda Ã¼mumi dÉ™yÉ™ri 1 mlrd. dollardan arÄ±q olan 50-dÉ™n Ã§ox investisiya layihÉ™lÉ™rinin icrasÄ±na qoÅŸulub. Bank É™sas diqqÉ™tini maliyyÉ™ sektorunun dayanÄ±qlÄ± inkiÅŸafÄ±, mikro, kiÃ§ik vÉ™ orta sahibkarlÄ±ÄŸÄ±n dÉ™stÉ™klÉ™nmÉ™si vÉ™ qeyri-neft Ã¶zÉ™l sektorunun inkiÅŸafÄ± mÉ™sÉ™lÉ™lÉ™rinÉ™ yetirir.
XatÄ±rladaq ki, 2002-ci ildÉ™n fÉ™aliyyÉ™t gÃ¶stÉ™rÉ™n Â«AccessBankÂ» bu ilin sentyabr ayÄ±nda É™vvÉ™lki brendini (AzÉ™rbaycan MikromaliyyÉ™lÉ™ÅŸdirmÉ™ BankÄ±) dÉ™yiÅŸib. BankÄ±n sÉ™hmdarlarÄ± rolunda AYÄ°B (20%), BeynÉ™lxalq MaliyyÉ™ KorporasiyasÄ± (20%), Qara DÉ™niz TicarÉ™t vÉ™ Ä°nkiÅŸaf BankÄ± (20%), AlmaniyanÄ±n KfW BankÄ± (20%), Â«AccessHoldingÂ» (16,53%) vÉ™ Â«LFS Financial Systems GmbHÂ» konsaltinq ÅŸirkÉ™ti (3,47%) Ã§Ä±xÄ±ÅŸ edir.